GM sees Brazil sales up 68% to 1 mln vehicles by 2014

General Motors Co. expects sales in Brazil to grow by 68 percent to 1 million vehicles by 2014 as growth in Latin America's largest economy stokes demand for fancier cars, said the automaker's South America chief.

"Brazilians are getting richer and the currency is stronger," Jaime Ardila, head of GM South America, said in an interview. The country will make a "significant contribution to the company's profits" in the next few years, he said.

GM predicts that sales of Chevrolets in Brazil will rise to 650,000 vehicles this year from almost 600,000 in 2009, and then surge to the 1 million mark in 2014, Ardila said. The Detroit- based automaker plans to increase deliveries "in line with the market or a little bit ahead" as total Brazilian car sales advance to 4 million in 2014, he said.

GM is investing more than 5 billion reais ($2.8 billion) in Brazil through 2012 as a burgeoning middle class, a strong currency and more jobs spur demand for cars, Ardila said. The country's gross domestic product will rise 7.2 percent this year, according to a central bank survey published yesterday.

"South America is perhaps one of the most important assets and best returns on investment that GM has," Ardila said in the July 2 interview in Paris, where he was attending an Economist conference. GM is focusing the investment on product development and spending 1.4 billion reais on two plants in the state of Sao Paulo to increase production.

Sales of GM's luxury brands, such as the Omega, Malibu and Captiva, have grown "tremendously" in Brazil in the past few years to more than 20,000 vehicles, Ardila said. The automaker sees "growing prospects" for premium cars, he said.